ReadingPals Program

WHAT IS READINGPALS?ReadingPals is a school-based mentoring program that helps 4-year-old pre-kindergarten students build strong pre-literacy skills necessary for kindergarten success. In 2013-2014 Escambia County’s high school graduation rate was 66.2%. By supporting children early, we can work toward increasing our high school graduation rate.

During the 2016-17 school year, 250 volunteers served a total of 5,004 hours with ReadingPals. Community members and volunteers donated a total of $2,682.37 of in-kind goods to support the ReadingPals Program this year. Including the value of volunteer labor and in-kind donations, ReadingPals had a $123,485 impact on our community in the 2016-2017 school year.

Join us today as we prepare our students for a better future. Change won't happen without you!

HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER?200 volunteers are needed to serve one hour per week or 25 hours total with a student during the 2017-18 school year. ReadingPals volunteers will use themed literacy kits to engage independently with a student in age appropriate learning activities.

Volunteers will receive mentor training and ongoing support. A Level II background screening, paid for by United Way, is required. Volunteers must be 18 years old, and smoke, tobacco, and nicotine free while serving as a ReadingPal.

DID YOU KNOW?Research indicates that differences in vocabulary are evident at 18 months of age. By age three, children in low-income homes will have heard one-third as many words as children in middle and high-income homes (10 million versus 30 million words). (Hart and Risley, The 30 Million Word Gap, 2003)